


Operation: Crushes

by dragonyfox



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, M/M, Modern AU, aka: anders and fenris have mutual crushes and carver has a crush on seb so lets get them hooked up, goth/punk au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-01
Updated: 2015-04-24
Packaged: 2018-03-20 18:27:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3660627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonyfox/pseuds/dragonyfox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Alright, kiddies," she said, grinning, "Guess which two of our wonderful friends have crushes?"<br/> <br/>Aveline scowled. "Please tell me that is not why you called us all here on a Tuesday night, Hawke."<br/> <br/>"Oh, it is absolutely the reason I called you all here on a Tuesday night, Aveline," Marian assured her, "Because Anders has a huge crush on Orana's brother, and Carver has a huge crush on this kid he's been hanging out with since the concert last weekend."<br/> <br/>"Alright, clearly you have a plan," Varric said, setting his elbows on the table pointedly, "care to share with the rest of the class?"<br/> <br/>Marian grinned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. That's Merrill's Dress

Fenris stayed quiet and let the casual conversation wash over him.

 

He had just. He’d needed to get away. His first and only thought had been of his sister. His adoptive sister, who had gotten out of that horrible fucking house. Like he was trying to do. Like he was trying to convince his blood sister to do.

 

So now, he was sitting on his sister’s couch, wearing nothing but a blanket while his clothes were in the washing machine.

 

"Fen, dear, your feet are  _shredded_. You didn’t go on Oak Street did you?” Orana chided, glaring at him. “You know that street is full of broken glass. These are going to get infected!”

 

Marian coughed gently. “Actually, I, uh. I know a healer that could come and take a look at them. He’s a bit…”

 

"He’s very intense," Merrill interrupted cheerily, "but he’s a good man. You wouldn’t have to worry about him, I promise! He’s like us!"

 

Fenris’ eyes darted from Hawke, who had greasy hair that stuck up in twelve directions and was wearing ratty jeans and an old band t-shirt, to Merrill, who had her (clean) hair braided messily and was wearing a loose tank top and a pair of black shorts, trying to find the similarities.

 

Then he looked back to his sister, for reassurance or an explanation, he wasn’t sure.

 

Orana nodded reluctantly. “He is. He’s worse than our Hawke about his music, but-“

 

"Hey, there’s nothing wrong with my music!" Marian replied defensively, then fished her cell phone from her pocket.

 

"Alright, Fen, just don’t mention music while he’s here," Orana said, a hint of pleading in her voice, "please, do not get him and Hawke talking about it or they’ll start playing it and I’m not in the mood for The Cure tonight."

 

Hawke put her phone to her chest and laughed for a second. “I’m going to tell Anders that you’re blaspheming his music.”

 

"You’ll be sleeping on the couch if you do," Orana bit back.

 

"Oh hi Anders," Hawke said into the phone, her voice pitched marginally higher than usual, "oh, no, I’m fine this time, just being threatened by my girlfriend- no, not Merrill this time, and would you quit calling her that- Oh, yeah but we do need your healer zappy powers- NO, it’s not because of her either! She wouldn’t hurt a fly!”

 

Fenris stared at her incredulously.

 

"Is she always like this?" he asked Orana.

 

Orana spread her hands helplessly.

 

Hawke finished out the phone call a few moments later with, “Fuck you and thank you for coming to help, see you in a bit!”

 

She turned around to see the three elves on the couch in various states of laughter.

 

"What?" she asked.

 

Orana recovered the quickest, and said, “Marian, dear, would you go find something for Fenris to wear?”

 

Fenris had been wondering when someone would take pity on him and give him something to wear.

 

Hawke scratched her head. “Um. Everything’s dirty, remember? Except for some of Merrill’s summer dresses?”

 

"I will wear them," Fenris told her dryly, "so long as Merrill doesn’t object?"

 

Merrill waved her hand, “oh, no I don’t mind! It might be a little chilly to wear them about, though! It is winter, you know!”

 

"Merrill, darling," Orana said, amused, "He’s not going to be leaving the house tonight. I think he’ll be warm enough in the house. And we wouldn’t want to scare poor Anders with an injured  _and_ naked man.”

 

Marian snickered. “Startled isn’t the word I’d use. But I’ll get you something of Merrill’s to wear if you’re sure.”

 

"I am." The last thing he wanted was any man to see him naked.

 

—

 

Anders threw the door open- it was unlocked per usual, not that it needed to be locked when Marian and or Merrill was there, vicious fighters that they were- and immediately ground to a halt.

 

"That’s Merrill’s dress," he said hollowly. He was suddenly rather parched.

 

Marian grinned at him knowingly. “Yes. It is. But before you start panting like a dog, can you take a look at his injuries? His feet are torn up pretty nasty. He walked down _Oak Street_ barefoot, can you believe it?”

 

That comment startled him from his staring, and he crossed the room to sit on the ground in front of the couch.

 

"Just so you know," he told the man, "that street is disgusting. Put your foot in my lap."

 

"My name is Fenris," he snapped, but lifted his nearest foot from the coffee table to Anders’ lap, "and I did not have a choice."

 

Anders hummed, and examined Fenris’ foot.

 

"I don’t think it’s infected," he said after a minute, and his hand lit up with soft teal light.

 

Fenris’ entire being tensed up, but he allowed Anders to run his hand along the sole of his foot, gently sealing up the cuts.

 

He quickly and quietly repeated the process with the other foot, and looked up at Fenris’ face.

 

"Andraste’s saggy tits! That’s a hell of a shiner! Marian, it’s almost as bad as the one you got in that mosh pit back a few summers ago!"

 

But Marian didn’t smile back at him. She grimaced, and made a slashing motion across her throat. Shit, that meant he’d put his foot in his mouth, per usual. Which meant that there was a nasty story behind the black eye.

 

Well. He had nasty stories about injuries too. “Or, actually, it reminds me more of this time back when I was still stuck at the Circle when I got between a Templar recruit and an apprentice- the recruit thought the apprentice was sassing him, so he, you know, he thought that getting aggressive and handsy was the best way to punish him.”

 

Fenris seemed to be relaxing a little, so he continued the story.

 

He motioned to the whole left side of his face at this point in the story. “All this got bruised up. Recruit took his anger out on me, smacked me right into the wall- which was stone. So, not only a giant bruise on my lovely face, but scrapes, too. I was just starting out learning healing, so it took me ages to fix it up.”

 

Merrill gasped, and covered her mouth. “That’s horrible!”

 

Anders shrugged. “I’m out of there now. And I help when I can. Now, Fenris, can I heal that up? It won’t take ten seconds, I promise.”

 

Fenris eyed him warily, but nodded. “You may.”

 

Anders didn’t touch him- he seemed too skittish for that- he let his hand hover about an inch away from Fenris’ rather striking, beautiful dark skin.

 

"And, done!" Anders chirped. "Anything else? Marian, you usually have a new injury every time I see you."

 

And so Anders allowed himself to be distracted patching up Marian’s various bruises instead of thinking about the beautiful man sitting on the couch wearing Merrill’s brightest green dress.

 

Not that it worked. The elf was devastatingly attractive. It  _would_ be his Maker-damned luck that he’d be attracted to his literal opposite.

 

—

 

Fenris stared at the door, mildly shell shocked at the storm that Marian, Merrill, and Orana had called “Anders”.

 

Orana caught him staring, and grinned.

 

"Do not-" he warned.

 

She ignored him and sang, “Does my big brother have a crush?”

 

"I do not," he denied, but it sounded rather hollow to him.

 

Marian crowed. “Holy shit! You’ve got a crush on Anders?”

 

And though he protested, the three didn’t listen.

 

So he went to sleep that night, on the couch, with a mound of ugly quilts, and fell asleep to the thought of a babbling blonde mage in a ratty T-shirt, ripped up jeans, and worn down shoes.

 


	2. Mind if I Stick With You?

Carver met him at a concert.

 

He'd been with his siblings and friends, partially so he wouldn't get lost and left behind on accident (again) and partially so he could make sure that Orana (she was brave little shit to venture into the pit with how tiny she is) or Varric wouldn't get trampled.

 

Varric liked to say, "even though we practically invented this shit, humans still haven't learned to watch their feet!"

 

A piercing whistle sliced the air, and the people surrounding Marian and Anders cleared away a little.

 

Marian, who had been the whistler, shouted over the rest of the noise, "Carver, help me carry this poor idiot outta the pit!"

 

So Carver slid through the rest of their friends and slung an arm over whatever idiot had fallen.

 

"Why can't Anders carry him?" he shouted.

 

Marian laughed loudly.

 

Carver rolled his eyes. "Alright, dumb question. Skinny weakling mage, I know!"

 

"Fuck you too, Carver!" Anders replied cheerfully as they found a relatively quiet spot away from any speakers and the worst of the crowd.

 

Carver and Marian sat the dude she'd picked up on a bench. Carver fished Bethany's scarf from his pocket, making a mental note to wash it before he gave it back, and wiped the blood from the guy's face.

 

Once Carver could see the guy's features better, he realized that he was rather attractive.

 

"What's your name?" Carver asked as he folded up Bethany's scarf.

 

"Sebas'n 'ael," he said through a bloody nose and a split lip.

 

"Well, Seb," Carver said, hoping to the Void that this dude didn’t actually have an accent, "out buddy Anders here is a spirit healer. He'll patch you up in no time and you can get back to the pit."

 

Anders dusted his hands off. "All done, Sebby. You're good to go."

 

"I do not think I will be going back into the pit tonight," Sebastian admitted, rubbing his face.

 

His voice was really nice, Carver noticed, startled. Then he paused and asked, "This isn't your first concert is it?"

 

Sebastian bowed his head. "It is, actually."

 

Marian roared with laughter.

 

"Voids be damned, kid," Carver grumbled, "at least tell me you came here with someone!"

 

He shrugged sheepishly.

 

Carver sighed, and waved Anders and Marian away. "Mind if I stick with you? There's always some asshole who has to harass new kids. Are you legal to drink?"

 

Sebastian smiled at him. "I am, yes."

 

"I'll buy you something, c'mon." He barely believed that he had actually said those words until Sebastian agreed.

 

Marian and Anders shared a grin, and started running back to where the rest of their friends still lingered, and soon after, in the distance, Carver heard Marian shouting, "Hey guys! Carver's got a crush!"

 

\--

 

 

 


	3. Wicked Grace Night

 They had gathered at the Hanged Man at Marian's behest.

 

"I have something extremely important to talk about and Anders and Carver _cannot be there_ ," she'd told each of them.

 

So they met in the back room of the Hanged Man, each in a chair surrounding the huge table that they played Wicked Grace at every Friday night.

 

Marian stood at the head.

 

"Alright, kiddies," she said, grinning, "Guess which two of our wonderful friends have crushes?"

 

Aveline scowled. "Please tell me that is not why you called us all here on a Tuesday night, Hawke."

 

"Oh, it is _absolutely_ the reason I called you all here on a Tuesday night, Aveline," Marian assured her, "Because Anders has a huge crush on Orana's brother, and Carver has a huge crush on this kid he's been hanging out with since the concert last weekend."

 

"Alright, clearly you have a plan," Varric said, setting his elbows on the table pointedly, "care to share with the rest of the class?"

 

Marian grinned.

 

\--

 

Fenris stared at her incredulously.

 

"I'm serious, Fen," Orana insisted, "Marian and Merrill both want you to come. I told them you like Dark Sanctuary and Dulce Sky and they're all eager to meet you!"

 

He rolled his eyes. "You want me to go play Wicked Grace with you and your friends at some seedy bar named- what was it- Oh, yes. _The Hanged Man_?"

 

Orana nodded. "Yes. I do. You'll have fun, Fen, and you need to get out of the house more."

 

That made him hesitate.

 

"Doesn't Varaina have a recital tonight?" Orana pressed. "You know she'll be safe at recital. He wouldn't _dare_."

 

And damn her, she's right.

 

"Alright," he tells her reluctantly, "I'll come."

 

\--

 

"Anders."

 

He jumped and yelped, "Andraste's hairy-"

 

"Anders!" Bethany scolded.

 

"Sorry, sorry," he said, calm again, "you just startled me is all. Did you need something, Beth?"

 

She laughed. "It's Friday, Anders."

 

He frowned, and fished into his pocket for his phone. Huh. So it was.

 

"Alright," he told her, "let me clean up the clinic and put out the lantern, and we can go. I should set an alarm or something…"

 

Bethany had a grin on her face the entire time he was tidying up, which made him suspicious. When he gave her a curious look, her grin only widened enough to threaten to split her face in two.

 

"Who's planning what?" he demanded.

 

"You'll have to see, won't you?" she chirped, rocking on her heels.

 

He narrowed his eyes at her, but followed her to the Hanged Man.

 

\--

 

Carver was not prepared to be lifted off of the couch and thrown over his brother's shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

 

"Put me down this fucking instant, Garrett!" he demanded.

 

Garrett asked, "If I do, will you promise not to skip Wicked Grace tonight?"

 

"Fuck _off_ , Garrett, yeah, I'll come. Put me the fuck down now!"

 

His brother dropped him unceremoniously.

 

Carver picked himself up, dusted himself off, and then noticed that Marian was standing by the door, looking particularly innocent while holding his phone out to him.

 

"What did you do to this?" he asked, eyeing it warily and not touching it.

 

She shook it at him. "I didn't do anything to your phone, Carver. I swear on father's grave."

 

"You're full of shit, Marian," he growled, "I know you did something, and I'm going to find out."

 

She shrugged innocently. "You're probably right, but you won't find out unless you come with us, now will you?"

 

Carver snatched his phone back, and immediately scrolled though his messaging apps for any suspicious activity. Then he checked his social media. He didn't find anything.

 

He glared at his older siblings the entire way to the Hanged Man regardless. They were up to something, and when they were up to something, it was almost always at his expense.

 

\--

 

Sebastian's phone chirped cheerily.

 

He had a text from an unknown number. He opened it to see:

 

_NNNNNNHHHHH!!! this is carvers sis!!!!! ;))))) you should DEF come 2 the hanged man 4 drinks &&& wicked grace!! well be there @8 so get there ASAP so we can invite u in bc it’s a surprise 4 carver!! so shhhhh!!!_

 

He stared at the message in confusion, and took a moment to take in the string of emojis and blank boxes at the end.

 

Another message popped up a few seconds after the first, with an address.

 

"Well," he said to the empty air of his apartment, "it's not like I have anything better to do."

 

\--

 

Anders and Bethany arrived first, passing by a rather familiar redhead on their way to the back room.

 

Varric, Aveline, and Isabela were already in the back room, since Varric and Isabela lived in the apartments over the bar and Aveline seemed to have come to the bar directly after work, since she was slumped on the table and nursing a whiskey already.

 

"Alright," Anders said loudly, striding in with confidence, "Who's planned what?"

 

Varric and Isabela snickered.

 

"You'll find out," Aveline replied dryly, "it's not like either of the older Hawkes are particularly subtle."

 

"Aw, don't spoil the surprise, big girl," Isabela whined.

 

The door opened again just a moment later, and Orana and Merrill entered, with another familiar elf just behind them.

 

"Merrill, Orana!" Anders greeted, "where's _your_ Hawke?"

 

"Oh, she had to pick up her brothers," Merrill chirped, "She said they'd get here at eight!"

 

Orana coughed pointedly, and shoved the other elf forward.

 

She introduced him. "Everyone, this is my brother Fenris. Fenris, these are my friends."

 

He gave a small wave.

 

"Why hello there, handsome," Isabela purred, moving to stand.

 

"No, you harlot," Aveline grumbled, tugging her down by the waistband of her shorts.

 

Isabela plopped back down in her seat and pouted. "Alright, Captain Man-hands, interfere with my flirting! See if I help you next time you want to impress Donnic-"

 

Aveline quickly grabbed a handful of pretzels from the bowl on the table and shoved them in Isabela's mouth.

 

Varric laughed.

 

"I am already regretting my decision," Fenris told Orana, though he didn't sound very sincere.

 

She patted his shoulder and walked away to sit next to Merrill.

 

Fenris stood awkwardly for a moment, and Anders took pity on him.

 

"Hey, you can sit with me. What kind of music do you listen to?"

 

Fenris glanced to Orana, mildly confused, but answered, "I'm fond of relaxing music. Dulce Sky."

 

"I've heard of them," Anders replied, "Not much my thing, but they're not bad."

 

Fenris sat down next to him. "What _is_ 'your thing', then?"

 

Orana traded a triumphant glance with Varric. The plan was working. And they didn't even have to do much pushing!

 

\--

 

Eight o'clock chimed on the grandfather clock in the next room, and moments later, Marian violently threw open the door, as is her personal custom.

 

"The rest of the flock has arrived, assholes!" Marian announced.

 

"That was unnecessary, sister," Garrett said dryly.

 

Marian punched him.

 

"Ow, Marian, what the fuck?" he whined.

 

"Anyway!" Marian continued, ignoring her twin, "we have a guest. Meet Carver's cute little mabari pup-"

 

"He is not a dog!" Carver complained.

 

"-Sebastian! He's a newbie to the scene so we adopted him after he almost got squished in the pit at that last concert. He's been hanging out with carver mostly, though," she explained, "so he's Carver's pet."

 

"Didn’t I patch him up?" Anders asked idly, "that pretty much makes him part of the family, doesn't it?"

 

Garrett turned away and covered his mouth to hide his grin.

 

Anders noticed, and smirked.

 

"Oh, I see," he said slyly, "carver, Sebby, why don't you two take the bench?"

 

The bench was the only multi-person seat in the room, and usually Marian and her lovers took it before anyone else could. But Orana and Merrill were sitting in normal chairs today, and Marian moving Orana into her lap and stealing her seat as he spoke.

 

Carver squinted at them all warily, but grabbed Sebastian's sleeve and tugged him over to the bench.

 

Anders leaned over Fenris' lap to whisper in Aveline's ear, "is the plan to get those two together?"

 

Fenris froze, and stared at the side of Anders' head blankly.

 

Aveline stared at Anders tiredly for a moment before replying. "Yes. That's the plan."

 

Anders nodded and leaned back in his chair to return to his conversation with Fenris.

 

\--

 

Fenris and Orana left at ten to meet their sister at home after her recital.

 

At around midnight, Sebastian excused himself, and carver offered to walk him home. Sebastian gracefully accepted.

 

Anders reluctantly left soon after, since he had an extra shift at the clinic the next day.

 

"So," Varric asked, "do we count this as a success on step one?"

 

Aveline groaned. "Anders knows you're trying to get carver and Sebastian together."

 

Garrett shrugged. "Anders is perceptive. Did he realize we were trying to hook him up with Fenris?"

 

"No," Aveline replied, "the idiot's not _that_ perceptive."

 

Isabela rubbed her hands together. "Alright. Now for step two…"


	4. Wasn't a Brawl

 

 

 

"Anders, we need your help."

 

He warily eyed the roguish trio standing outside of his clinic while he locked up for the night. They looked so sincere, but the last time they'd said those words, he had to sew someone up.

 

"Who is it this time?" he asked suspiciously, "Is it Garrett? No, it's Aveline, isn't it? She ripped someone to shreds in an unofficial interrogation and needs me to heal them."

 

Marian shook her head. "It’s Fenris."

 

Anders paused. "Really? He seemed rather mild-mannered. I didn’t take him for one to start brawls."

 

"Wasn’t a brawl, blondie," Varric said, "We’ve got him over at the Hawke estate since it was closest, and he refused to let us bring him to a hospital."

 

Anders' expression soured when he realized what Varric meant. He unlocked the clinic again.

 

\--

 

Fenris flinched when the front door open, though he tried to smother it.

 

A muffled shout reached the room he had been placed in, "We've got blondie!"

 

"Marian's back with Anders," Orana said, relieved. "Promise me you'll stay here from now on, Fen. You _can't_ go back or he'll hurt you _worse_."

 

"I shouldn't have left at all," he snarled at her, but his words lacked the heat he wished he could put into them, "Who's going to protect her?"

 

Orana put her hand on his wrist. "Listen, he can't hurt her badly enough that she can't play. She'll be safe enough for a little while."

 

"We have to get her-"

 

He cut himself off when Marian knocked on the doorframe, with Anders just behind her.

 

"Healer's in!" she announced cheerily. Her eyes betrayed her worry, however.

 

"I'm always up for fixing up friends," Anders agreed, stepping into the doorway.

 

He stopped there, though, to Fenris' confusion.

 

"What are you doing, mage?" he growled, tensing up and clenching his fists.

 

Anders smiled humorlessly. "I'm waiting for you to tell me I can come in. It's a- It's a thing I do. I need permission."

 

Fenris stared at him, and relaxed minutely. A mage- a male mage at that- wanted his permission to enter a room that didn't even belong to him?

 

"…You may enter," he agreed a moment later.

 

Anders dipped his head and approached. He set down a small bag that made small clinking noises at the foot of the bed.

 

"I'm going to get most of it fixed up with magic," Anders explained, "but magic can only do so much for pain, which is why I brought some elfroot potions.

 

He nodded reluctantly. "I am aware."

 

Anders said nothing while he healed Fenris.

 

Fenris took this stretch of silence as an opportunity to really look at Anders.

 

He was tall, but far thinner than Fenris thought he probably should have been. His blonde hair was halfway pulled up and out of his face.

 

"Alright, that's all the cuts and bruises I can see," Anders said.

 

Then he looked directly into Fenris' eyes. Bottle green met whiskey amber, and Fenris' heart sank into his gut. He had a really bad feeling that he might be developing a-

 

"I need to know if you have any more injuries, Fenris," Anders said softly, cutting off his train of thought.

 

Fenris glanced to Orana.

 

"Fen," she said sternly, "he's good. You can trust him."

 

He nodded slowly, reluctantly. "Alright. Will everyone except the mage leave the room? I would prefer to not be more humiliated than I already am."

 

\--

 

When Anders emerged from Fenris' room, he immediately approached Orana.

 

"Do you know who did this?" he asked quietly.

 

She paused for a long moment, but nodded.

 

Anders grinned. "Give me their name, and address, and I can get them arrested."

 

She yanked at her hair and said, "He's- he's very good at hiding what he's done, Anders. He's been investigated before and nothing's come of it!"

 

"Oh no, Orana, dear," Anders said, placing a hand on her shoulder,” trust me. He'll go to prison. I have Justice on my side."


	5. Sorry For Dropping By So Late

_"I'm in space. I'm in space. Where am I? Guess. Guess, Guess, Guess. I'm in space!"_

 

Carver idly looked around for his phone. He'd seen this movie a hundred times. Missing a few seconds of Eric beating the shit out of the people who killed him and his fiancé wasn't a terribly big deal to him.

 

_"I'm in space. I'm in space. Where am I? Guess. Guess, Guess, Guess. I'm in space!"_

 

"Alright, shut up," he growled, finally locating his phone, "I heard you the first time, no need to blow it up."

 

He unlocked his phone, and his heart sank.

 

_hey babe im sorry for what I said last time_

 

_can I make it up to you?_

 

Carver ran his hands through his hair, mumbling, "fuck. I shouldn't. Carver, you fucking moron, don't you _dare._ "

 

_yeah sure. ill let u in thru the window. b might murder u if she sees u._

 

He threw his phone at his computer chair. It bounced off of the back, onto the seat, and clattered down onto the floor. Thank the Maker for Otterboxes.

 

"Maker take you, Carver, you stupid, stupid, gullible bastard."

 

\--

 

Carver paced back and forth in his room until Karras arrived, steeling himself for the coming confrontation.

 

"You can't keep letting him use you, Carver, you are breaking this off once and for all."

 

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard tapping on his window.

 

Karras was leaning on the outside ledge, grinning. He was a little difficult to see in the darkness, but the light in his room lit him up just well enough for Carver to see. He was vaguely disgusted to see that he'd grown his beard out- again- even though Carver had told him it was ugly as hell.

 

"Let me in, lover!" Karras mouthed.

 

Carver scowled, and opened his window just enough to talk through.

 

"I changed my mind, Karras," he said, hoping his voice didn't waver, "I'm not letting you do this to me again. I'm sick of the cheating, and I've heard what people have been saying about you. That’s fucked up and wrong, and-"

 

"Aww, babe," Karras whined, "You don't believe that bullshit, do you? It's just some sluts trying to break us up so they can get with me."

 

Carver snarled, "I believe it. My friend runs a clinic, and some of your victims went to him for help. And I'll believe him over just about anyone when it comes to that shit."

 

Karras' pleasant expression fell, and his eyes went dark.

 

"Carver, babe-"

 

"Don't fucking call me-!"

 

A knock on Carver's door made them both freeze.

 

Garrett's muffled voice came through the window, "Carver?"

 

"Its fine, Garrett!" Carver shouted back, "Leave me alone!"

 

"Okay, but if you get a virus on your precious PC from watching porn, I'm going to laugh at you for the rest of your life, you hear me?"

 

Carver rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I hear you! Go the fuck away!"

 

Karras waited a moment for Garrett to leave before he continued.

 

"Listen, babe-"

 

"You need to get the fuck out of here too, asshole," Carver growled.

 

Karras sneered, and shoved Carver's window open further to clamber through it and into his room.

 

Carver stumbled backwards, tripped over a bundle of loose wires- he knew he should have put those away earlier- and fell back onto his bed.

 

"Listen, you little bitch," Karras hissed, climbing onto Carver, "you're _mine_! You're not going to deny me what's mine, you hear?"

 

"Gare-!" Carver shouted, but then Karras' hands were around his throat and squeezing.

 

Carver struggled. His hands came up to claw at Karras', and he tried to pry those greasy fingers away so he could suck in air. He kicked, but Karras' knees were pinning his legs so he couldn't do more than flail ineffectually.

 

"Mari-!" He gasped, _"Beth!_

 

"Shut the fuck up!"

 

"Carver!?" Garret's voice was almost angelic.

 

"Gare-" he mouthed.

 

Damn Karras, he couldn't exhale enough for his vocal chords to work.

 

Marian's voice was even more angelic than Garrett's; "Carver, if you don't tell me you're alright this instant, I'm breaking your damn door down!"

 

"Shit," Karras hissed, but didn't move his hands, _"fuck!"_

 

Carver's door rattled.

 

He grinned, even as his lips and fingertips went numb. Marian once threatened to rip Karras' throat out through his dick, and Carver fully believed she'd try once she saw what he was doing to him now.

 

The door rattled again, and then it flew open, hanging at an odd angle.

 

Marian bolted in, and snarled, sounding more like a mabari than a human, and swung at Karras. Her punch landed, as expected, and the rings she wore- which she wore specifically so when she punched someone that it would hurt worse- tore open his cheek in three places.

 

Karras let go of Carver's throat, and clutched at his face.

 

Carver sucked in a rattling breath, though it was interrupted by several coughs, and thanked the both Maker and the Creators that he could breathe again.

 

"You psychotic-" Karras yelped, scrambling for Carver's window, "you psychotic fuck!"

 

Marian didn't reply with words. She lunged for him with clawed hands, latching onto his shoulder and sinking her just sharp enough fingernails through his white V-neck shirt and into his skin.

 

Karras howled as blood spotted around Marian's hands.

 

"Carver, are you alright!?" Garrett asked, hovering over him.

 

Carver coughed, and gave him a thumbs up before waving at him to pull their sister off of Karras before she murdered him.

 

Garrett nodded and patted his shoulder before walking calmly around Carver's bed while Marian was snarling and kicking Karras everywhere she could reach.

 

He wrapped one arm around his much smaller sister's torso and pulled.

 

Karras screamed again when Marian's fingernails were ripped from his skin. He fumbled backwards, collapsing on the windowsill.

 

"I suggest you leave before I let my sister go," Garrett said, his voice cutting through Carver's coughs and Karras' pained hissing like a knife through butter, "Because if I do, all three of us will claim you entered unlawfully and assaulted our dear brother- which you did- and your death will be have been in self-defense."

 

"Fuck you," Karras snapped.

 

Garrett loosened his hold on Marian a fraction, and she used the opportunity given to her. She lashed out, and her nail caught on Karras' face.

 

" _Fuck!_ Alright, I'm gone!"

 

He slunk out of the window, sneering backwards over his shoulder.

 

Marian calmed again once he was out of her sight. "Gare, call Anders. Carver, let me see. Ugh, it looks bad. Stay calm and breathe, yeah?"

 

Carver shook his head. "I'll be fine, Marian, don't call Anders."

 

Garrett paused in his dialing. "Are you sure?"

 

"Yeah," and damn, did his voice really sound that bad? "Yeah, I just want to leave the house for a bit. Can you drive me to Sebastian's?"

 

Garrett looked to his sister, but reluctantly put his phone back in his pocket. "I suppose I could. But you call Anders the second anything feels off, you hear?"

 

Carver waved him off, and got to his feet shakily. "Yeah, yeah. If breathing becomes an issue I'll call Anders. I got it."

 

-

 

A knock startled Sebastian from his book. He waited, wondering if he had really heard someone knocking on his door.

 

Another knock answered him, and he stood, curious to see who would visit him at such a late hour.

 

Carver stood in his doorway.

 

His throat was mottled red and purple, his eyes were red, but he had a stubborn, if tired, expression.

 

"Hey, I'm sorry for dropping-" he coughed, and rubbed his throat, "for dropping by so late. I, uh, I just really needed to get out of the house for the night. Can I stay here? I mean- if you don't want me to, I can go to Aveline's for the night-"

 

"Come in, Carver," Sebastian said, cutting him off.

 

Carver's shoulders slumped, and he smiled tiredly. "Thanks, I- I really appreciate it. I'll make it up to you-"

 

"There is no need to make it up to me, Carver," Sebastian assured him, "we're friends, are we not?"

 

"Yeah…"

 

Sebastian motioned to his couch. "I'm only going to ask one question, Carver, and you do not have to answer."

 

Carver nodded.

 

Sebastian fiddled with the hem of his shirt a moment. "This wasn't caused by your family, was it?"

 

"Wh- oh, no. Maker, no. It was- no. Bethany was out, but Garrett and Marian were the ones who helped me. Hell, Garrett drove me here."

 

Sebastian nodded, and let out an internal sigh of relief.

 

He pointed at the shelf under his TV. "I have a small selection of movies, but you are welcome to pick one. I was just reading, anyway."

 

Carver tilted his head. "What are you reading?"

 

" _The Cleric Quintet_ ," Sebastian answered, mildly surprised. "Have you read it?"

 

"Yeah, I've read that one. Wasn't bad, either. What do you think of…?”

 


	6. We Have To Move You

Fenris watched Anders sleep on the Hawke's couch with disdain.

 

He was drooling into one of the decorative pillows, and wasn't even entirely on the couch. Although that might have been due to his excessive height, since one foot was hanging off the edge of the couch and the other was hanging off the arm.

 

Carver slunk by, his throat freshly healed by Anders, before he passed out.

 

Fenris rubbed his own throat. He knew what that was like, and hoped that Carver hadn't had to deal with it for very long.

 

Frantic knocking interrupted his quiet thoughts, and he flew into parade rest.

 

Anders startled awake blearily. "Wha’s going on?"

 

Marian thudded down the stairs, "its Orana, let her in right now. Fenris, pack up whatever you have here, we have to move you."

 

Fenris' heart stopped. "What?"

 

"Danarius? He's on his way here. Orana was visiting your sister at a recital and told her to come here if she ever needed to get away, and Danarius overheard. He's on his way here now to get you. We have to move you somewhere else," Marian explained, opening the door and letting Orana in.

 

"I'm not a coward!" Fenris growled.

 

Orana rushed up to him, running her hands along his arms and ribs from habit. "I know. I know, Fenris, but he's pissed. Remember when you accidentally spilled wine on Hadriana?"

 

His stomach rolled at the memory.

 

"You're right," he replied, trying to keep his voice steady, "but where can I go?"

 

Ander coughed.

 

"Perfect," Marian chirped, "Ander's place is perfect. And if he comes after you there, Justice will rip him to shreds. Orana, grab Ander's shoes, yes? Fenris, I might have some shoes that will fit you-"

 

"I don't wear shoes."

 

"-or you can go barefoot," Marian corrected herself, "That's fine, we're driving anyway. Alright, up you get, Anders."

 

"I'm up, I'm up. Damn, woman."

 

Marian shouted down the hallway, "Carver! Wake Gare up and watch the house! If shitweasel comes by tell him to fuck off or you'll call the cops, yeah!?"

 

Carver popped his head out from his room, "Danarius is being a dick again? What is it this time?"

 

"He knows Fenris is here."

 

"You’re moving him, right?"

 

"To Anders' place, yeah. We got this. Wake Gare up and tell him where we went and to work his wordy magic on shitweasel, yeah?"

 

Carver saluted sloppily.

 

\--

 

The car ride to Ander's apartment was quiet and tense.

 

Marian drove like she was Batman. Orana claimed the front seat since she got carsick very easily, even with Marian's claims that she was driving more careful than she usually did.

 

Which left Anders and Fenris to share the backseat.

 

Anders was fully awake now, but still exhausted, so he was much quieter than usual, and didn’t even bother to complain when Orana took control of the radio.

 

Marian pulled into the parking lot behind Ander's apartment complex.

 

Fenris looked up at it. It was a fairly nice building, but in a not-so-nice part of the neighborhood. Fences nearby had hang signs and ridiculous drawings spray painted on them, and there was glass in the alley Marian had drove down.

 

"That one's new," Anders said, pointing to a large spray-painted cat above a large bowl of cat food, "oh, and someone filled up the cat bowl while I was gone. I bet it was the land lady. She likes cats almost as much as I do."

 

Marian eyed the two of them with a mix of wariness and amusement. "Do you need help getting upstairs? And Anders, for void's sake, take tomorrow off. Bethany's on at the clinic, and I'll have her call me if you show up and I will bodily drag you back here."

 

Anders grumbled, but gave in. "alright, I'll take tomorrow off. Take note that I am doing so under protest, however."

 

Marian looked at Fenris. "He’s going to sleep until two in the afternoon tomorrow. He's got a ton of movies, and I think I left my tablet there. Password is Barkley, that's e-y, not just y, with an eight instead of a B. You're welcome to use it."

 

"I- thank you?"

 

Anders grumbled and unlocked the outer door while Marian and Orana got back in her car.

 

Fenris reluctantly followed him up a flight of stairs and into his apartment.

 

"Home sweet home," Anders said, motioning to the room, "this is the living room. Left hand room is Justice's. You probably won't have to worry about him. I think he had a late shift tonight. The room next to Justice's leads to the kitchen. On the left hand side, that's my room, and that's the bathroom."

 

"Thank you," Fenris said abruptly, "I am not certain I said that yet, but I do appreciate you allowing me to stay with you."

 

Anders stared at him a minute, then flushed red. "I- uh- it's no problem. I promise. Um. Movie? Want a snack- oh, wait, we're out of food I think…"

 

Fenris' lip twitched. "Go sleep, mage. I'll be fine."

 

Anders opened his mouth to argue, but yawned widely instead.

 

"Okay," he said, "I admit defeat. I'm going to sleep. Help yourself to the kitchen, but there's likely nothing there. I'll text Justice so he doesn't freak out when he sees you. Night, Fen."

 

Fenris didn't bother to tell Anders that it was one in the afternoon, and watched him stumble into his bedroom while texting.

 

He settled on the couch, and examined the living room.

 

It was surprisingly tidy. That had to be the work of this Justice person, since Fenris had yet to see Anders clean up any of his messes. And there was a litter box in the bathroom, which he could only just see from his spot on the couch, which meant there was a cat somewhere.

 

Still, for how tidy it was, it was also clearly lived in. there was a messy stack of papers on the table, which had to have been Justice's manifesto, which Anders had talked about at length. There were also several opened DVD cases on top of the DVD player on the shelf under the TV, along with several CD cases stacked precariously.

 

Fenris' eyes wandered to the side table, and landed on a thin, black tablet.

 

He picked it up, dug a pair of headphones from his pocket, typed in 8arkley, and went and opened two tabs: 8tracks and Facebook.

 

Once he had logged in to both, and located his favorite quiet playlist, he sent a private message to Garrett.

 

_Fenris: is orana ok_

 

Dots immediately popped up.

 

_Garrett: this is carver. oranas fine. danarius is gone. doesnt know where u r yet. said hed hunt u down tho so be careful. we got ur back if u need us and don’t hesitate to call aveline._

Fenris slumped backwards onto the soft cushion of the couch and sighed in relief.

 

_Fenris: thank you carver_

_Carver:  dude. ur our friend and oranas bro. its np._

Fenris didn't reply to that, and hoped that Carver didn't take it the wrong way.

 

He curled up around Marian's tablet, hoped that Anders and Justice didn't mind feet on their couch, and drifted off into a light sleep.

 

\--

 

Fenris woke up with a jerk when he heard a key turning the lock to the apartment. He sat up and watched the door warily.

 

The man who entered was nearly as tall as Anders, but heavier-set and clearly more muscular, even through his uniform.

 

"I take it you are Fenris?" he asked.

 

Fenris was mildly startled by the man's voice. It was nearly as deep as his own.

 

"I am," Fenris replied, standing warily and offering his hand. "I take it you're Justice?"

 

The man shook his hand firmly. "Christopher Justice, yes."

 

"Fenris. Just Fenris."

 

Justice frowned, but nodded. "As you wish, ser. How long will you be staying?"

 

"I don't know. I hope to return to the Hawke estate or to my sister's apartment, but…" Fenris shook his head. "Never mind. I will attempt to not overstay my welcome."

 

"Anders did not tell me much about you, Fenris," Justice said slowly, "just that you were in a dangerous position and that you would be staying here for the foreseeable future."

 

Fenris looked at the ground. "I apologize if that upsets you, ser. I can find someplace else to stay if you wish."

 

"Nonsense," Justice replied, motioning to the couch, "I can see you are troubled, and though Anders' friends are a rambunctious group, I can see you are much calmer than the majority of them. You may stay as long as you do not messy up the apartment more than it already is."

 

Fenris eyed Justice warily.

 

Justice nodded, and turned away to walk to his own room.

 

When his door closed, Fenris curled back up around Marian's tablet, and picked another playlist, trying to push the worry that both Anders and Justice were lying and waiting to tear into him, just like Danarius.

 

_Orana wouldn't trust someone who would do that,_ he thought to himself, _I'm safe here._

 

If only he could force his nerves to believe his head.


	7. "Yet"

Carver was sprawled on Sebastian's couch, with his laptop in his lap and angled so that Sebastian could see from his spot on the recliner.

 

Sebastian had asked him to come over and show him some new bands, since he was just getting into the kind of music Carver and his friends and family liked.

 

"Alright, so this group- Babymetal- is really nice, but not what a lot of people expect-"

 

High-pitched chirping interrupted him.

 

"The hell is that…?" Carver asked.

 

Sebastian smiled. "It’s my ringtone. Excuse me a moment."

 

He stood, fished his phone from his pocket, and answered while walking away into his small kitchen, leaving Carver alone on his couch.

 

Carver scrunched his nose and asked the ceiling, "who actually uses standard ringtones?"

 

"No, Aunt Elthina, I cannot come to church this Sunday."

 

Carver froze. Did Sebastian know his voice carried? Probably not, since he was speaking at a normal volume. Carver briefly thought that he should put headphones in and not listen. The thought passed, and he guiltily tilted his head to listen.

 

"Yes, I am busy. I apologize but-" he paused, then continued, "no, I still have faith, I just- I have an interview."

 

That was a lie, Carver knew, since Sebastian said he was going to the festival with him on that day. Carver didn't know that Sebastian even knew _how_ to lie!

 

"No, I cannot have the date changed- yes, I tried, but- tell her I am deeply sorry, but this interview is important to me- no, I cannot call in sick! Goodbye, Aunt Elthina. I love you too."

 

He returned, and smiled at Carver tiredly.

 

"You okay?" Carver asked, not even bothering to pretend that he hadn't been listening in.

 

Sebastian's smile took on a more cheerful tilt. "Yes, I'm okay. Now, what were you saying about Babymetal?"

 

Carver hesitated, but said again, "Right. It's a good group, I like them, but not everybody does…"

 

\--

 

"Sis," Carver said, walking into Bethany's room unannounced and flopping gracelessly onto her bed, "did you know that Seb's family is religious?"

 

Bethany didn't look up from her vanity, "I thought he might be. Didn't you see his belt? He's got Andraste over his crotch. It's a little hard to miss."

 

Carver threw a stuffed animal at her chair. She paused so he didn't ruin it with his hissy fit, then continued applying her makeup.

 

"I wasn't looking at his crotch, Beth! Why were you?"

 

She shrugged. "Habit."

 

"Wh- no, I don't want to know. Anyway, why would I look at his crotch when his face is so disgustingly good?"

 

Bethany finished her makeup, and turned around to stare at him in amusement.

 

"What?" Carver asked, feeling decidedly vulnerable under her gaze.

 

"You’ve really got it bad if you're only looking at his face and not his bits," Bethany said softly, "have you even had sex yet?"

 

"What? No! I don't-" Carver paused and curled up on her bed miserably, "what if he doesn't like me that way?"

 

Bethany smiled. "I can find out for you, if you like."

 

"… Please don't act like Marian. Please, please do not."

 

She leaned forward and patted his ankle. "Don't worry, I'll put on my very best Garrett act. 'Hello young sir, what are your intentions with my brother?'"

 

Carver laughed. "Beth, please!"

 

"'What d'ya mean, lass?'" she said in a bad Starkhaven accent, then switched back to Garrett, "'My brother has a huge crush on you and I need to know your intentions.'"

 

"Maker's tits, Bethany, don't you dare!"

 

"'Oh, aye, lass, I haven't but the best intentions for your brother!'"

 

She only stopped when Carver sat up and threatened to ruin her makeup with a pillow to her face.

 

"Alright, alright," she said, "I won't do that. But I will ask him. If he says anything bad, I'll light him on fire. If he says good things, I'll only _threaten_ to set him on fire. So he knows you have people willing to murder to protect even your feelings."

 

"I hate you, Bethany," Carver said.

 

Bethany beamed. "I hate you too, dear brother."

 

\--

 

Sebastian smiled when his doorbell rang.

 

Only Carver was standing there, however, when he opened the door.

 

"I thought your sister and her girlfriend was coming?" he asked, eyebrows furrowed in concern.

 

Carver grinned. "Yeah, but they're in the car still. I'm hoping they'll get all their kissing and groping out of the way while I'm up here. Can I borrow your bathroom?"

 

Sebastian took a step back and opened the door wider.

 

"Thanks, man," Carver said, patting his shoulder as he passed.

 

Sebastian ignored the brief impulse to lean into Carver's hand.

 

When Carver returned from the bathroom, Sebastian asked, "Do you believe it's safe to go down to your car yet?"

 

"Not my car," Carver admitted, "It's Isabela's. And, I dunno, maybe. Walk slow, just in case."

 

Since Carver was so clearly reluctant to go back downstairs, Sebastian took his time locking up his apartment, making sure to lock all three of the locks, when he usually only locked one.

 

About halfway down the stairs, Carver asked, "So, how come you're skipping the Chant for a concert?"

 

The question caught him off guard. "I'm sorry?"

 

Carver waved to his belt buckle. "You’ve got to be a pretty devout Andrastian if you're wearing her face for your belt buckle, Seb."

 

"Well," Sebastian said, stalling for time, "I am devout, yes. Is that an issue?"

 

Carver shook his head. "Nah, I'm just wondering why you aren't at the Chantry on a Sunday."

 

Sebastian sighed.

 

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Carver said quietly, "I'm just curious."

 

"No, I don't mind," Sebastian said, "just… maybe later? After the concert. I don't want to ruin the fun."

 

Carver eyed him silently for a moment. "Alright. After."

 

Sebastian nodded gratefully, and they finally reached the bottom floor and went outside.

 

"Aw, gross!" Carver whined, "Bethany, Isabela! For the love of Andraste, can you two quit sucking face for five minutes!?"

 

\--

 

Carver had explained in the car that it wasn't a concert, but an all-day festival with several local and-or newbie metal and punk bands that he'd invited him to.

 

The venue was smaller than Sebastian had expected it to be, but it almost seemed to him like it was louder and more chaotic all for it.

 

It was in a darkly lit bar, and people were pressed against each other all throughout. The only spot in the entire place was a few table off to the side of the bar, and even those were filled with several couples and groups.

 

"I thought you sister liked quieter stuff!" he shouted into Carver's ear.

 

"She does!" Carver shouted back, "But she likes this too!"

 

The crowd pressed in on him, and Sebastian scrambled to grab for the side of Carver's shirt. He wasn't sure why, but this crowd was making his skin crawl a little.

 

"You alright there, Seb?" Carver asked, dragging him to a slightly less crowded area.

 

"I'm fine," Sebastian assured him, "I just… didn't realize it would be so packed."

 

Carver laughed, and an unnerving weight settled at the bottom of Sebastian's belly. Surely it was too soon for those kind of feelings to have developed…?

 

"I'm not laughing at you!" Carver assured him, patting Sebastian's hand where it clutched at his shirt, "Go ahead and hold onto me!"

 

So Sebastian did. Carver had no problems dancing and moving around with him latched onto his shirt, and he even grabbed Sebastian's shirt to tug him around the small building as well. Sebastian was mildly surprised that nobody said anything about it.

 

When the light from the scant windows started dimming, the crowd started thinning out. Sebastian was reluctant to let go of his hold, however, and waited until Bethany and Isabela located them and dragged them back to the car.

 

"So, Seb," Bethany twisted around in her seat, shotgun, of course, since Isabela was driving- and asked, "was that more or less fun than the last concert?"

 

"More, I think," Sebastian answered truthfully, "though I was unprepared for the density of the crowd."

 

Bethany smirked.

 

"Beth, no," Carver warned, "don't you dare."

 

Sebastian looked at him in confusion, then back to Bethany.

 

"I noticed," Bethany drawled, ignoring her brother, "that you held onto Carver's shirt all day. Do I have to worry about beating you off like we had to do to his last boyfriend?"

 

"Boyfriend…?" Sebastian echoed.

 

"Bethany, he's not like Karras!" Carver snapped, "And he's not my boyfriend."

 

"Yet," Isabela corrected.

 

Sebastian noticed Carver's failure to correct her. Maybe it wasn't too soon to be developing such feelings.

 


	8. Movie Day

When Anders finally woke up, he stared at his open door in confusion for a few moments, before spotting a flash of white hair on the couch.

 

Right. Fenris was here, and he didn't want to scare him off.

 

Pounce meowed at him from the foot of his bed.

 

"Shh," Anders hissed at him, "if you wake up Fenris, I'm feeding you to Barkley."

 

Pounce flicked an ear and hopped down from the bed to sit in the doorway.

 

"Alright, I'll come feed you. Just be quiet, you hear?" Anders whispered as he slowly climbed out of bed and tried to be as quiet as he could on his way to the kitchen.

 

He couldn't help but stare a little at the sight of Fenris dead asleep on the couch, curled into a painful looking ball around Marian's tablet. Fenris looked a lot less broody in his sleep. He was nearly smiling, even, which made Anders smile a little.

 

"Shit," Anders whispered, realizing that Fenris didn’t have a blanket and was probably freezing.

 

He ignored Pounce's irritated meow and padded back to his room for one of his warmer blankets- a grey, plush one that was soft but light and so very warm. It was Anders' favorite, but he chose it because it probably wouldn't wake Fenris.

 

Well. That's what he told himself.

 

Gently, he tossed the blanket over Fenris, mentally praying that he wouldn't wake up. The poor elf probably didn't sleep very much in Danarius' house, and the Hawke flock wasn't exactly known for being a quiet and calm family.

 

Luckily, Fenris remained asleep once the blanket settled.

 

Anders grinned triumphantly, and finally went to feed his cat (and then himself) like he'd originally intended.

 

\--

 

When Fenris woke up, he didn't open his eyes or move. He quickly realized he wasn't sleeping on the patch of floor he was used to sleeping on, and that something was covering him. A blanket?

 

Then the smell of fresh biscuits and gravy hit him, and his stomach gurgled as he finally realized where he was.

 

He sat up slowly, but kept the blanket around his shoulders.

 

"Oh, Fenris!"

 

Fenris twisted around to find the mage's voice, and saw him standing in the kitchen.

 

"You're awake!" Anders motioned to the stove behind him and added, "I'm just now finishing up breakfast. I hope biscuits and gravy is alright? It's all I really know how to make…"

 

"You can't make eggs?" Fenris asked as he stood, wrapping the blanket around his shoulders.

 

Anders shrugged. "I know _how_ , I just can't get it right. I gave up after I had to toss a whole carton's worth of eggs after ruining even scrambled eggs."

 

He approached Anders slowly, and a touch warily.

 

Anders smiled wryly, and handed him a plate. "It's self-serve. Take as many biscuits as you like, just leave a few for me to box up for Justice, and use as much gravy as you like, I've already put some away- oh, but it's got sausage bits in it, I hope you're not vegetarian…?"

 

Fenris shook his head, and took the plate.

 

\--

 

Anders was having a hard time making his brain function.

 

Fenris was _wearing_ his _favorite blanket._

 

The attractive but probably off limits elf was wearing _Anders' blanket_ like a cloak. He'd always heard about guys loving it when girls wore their clothes, but he hadn't really ever heard of people loving it when it when someone wore their blankets.

 

Well, no, wait. Maybe blankets fall under the same rules as sheets-

 

"This is very good," Fenris said, interrupting his thoughts.

 

"Oh, uh-" Anders mentally kicked himself into speaking, "Thanks!"

 

Fenris set down his fork, already finished.

 

"You can, um," Anders waved at the stove again, "feel free to get another plate if you like. I already boxed up some for Justice."

 

Fenris eyed him warily for a moment, but got up slowly and refilled his plate. He never once turned his back on Anders, even when he had to look away to cover his biscuits with gravy.

 

Anders grinned.

 

"What do you plan to do with your day off?" Fenris asked before he started eating again.

 

"Well, uh, I was thinking about watching Netflix, since it's already nearly noon."

 

Fenris' eyes widened, and he moved to get up. But then he stopped himself, and sat back down.

 

"Sorry," he mumbled, picking at his plate now, "go on."

 

Anders tilted his head and stared at him for a minute. "You okay, Fenris? Did you have something you needed to do? I don't have a car, but you can probably call Isabela and she'd be willing to drive you…"

 

"No, I don’t have anything that needs to be done. Not anymore," Fenris replied cryptically. "What were you going to watch on Netflix?"

 

"… If you're sure. The new Daredevil series came out, and I'm a sucker for the MCU, but I've been too busy with the clinic to watch it. You can join me, if you like. Or you can take my bed and nap on that. The couch can't have been comfy."

 

"Your lumpy couch is better than what I'm used to." Fenris shook his head. "I'll watch this show with you, but be warned that I know nothing about whatever the MCU is."

 

Anders let the subject of his couch lie in favor of gasping dramatically at Fenris' lack of knowledge of Marvel movies.

 

"That just won't do," Anders joked, standing up, "let me dig out my stack of Marvel movies, and we'll watch those so you can be educated on the awesomeness of superhero movies!"

 

\--

 

Three movies and several hours later, Ander's phone went off.

 

_"We missed you hissed the love cats!"_

 

"Argh, shit, sorry," Anders apologized, clicking the answer button and standing up from the couch, "It's Beth, I gotta answer."

 

Fenris nodded and continued watching Iron Man 2, although he kept one ear on Ander's conversation out of habit.

 

"Hi Bethany! What's up? … What? I have _how much_ vacation time? No- don't you dare- you little shit. At least put me on the emergency call list! You and I are the only mage healers at the clinic, that's why! Yes, thank you. I'll be calling the front desk to make sure you're not lying to me, you little shit."

 

Anders didn't _sound_ angry with Bethany, even though he was cursing at her. Still, Fenris tensed a little when Anders returned to the couch after his second call to his clinic's secretary.

 

"Bethany's making me take my three weeks of vacation time," Anders explained during a quiet moment in the movie, "I have no idea what to do with myself for three weeks."

 

Fenris shrugged.

 

Anders sighed. "Well, at least we can stay up all night watching Marvel movies. Or, at least until you get sick of them or too tired. You're not sick of them, are you?"

 

Fenris frowned at how quickly Anders' tone went from flippant to worried. "No, I'm not sick of them. I enjoy these movies, even though they're ridiculous and unbelievable."

 

Anders relaxed into the couch. "Yeah, but that's kind of the point of them. These are the kind of superhero movies that are like, 'hey! This bad shit is happening! But don't worry, we can save the day!' I love them. Wait until we get to the Winter Soldier. It's my favorite."

 

\--

 

Fenris started drifting at about 4 AM, during Thor: The Dark World, so Anders admitted they should stop after Thor was over, and continue the next morning.

 

"Take my bed," Anders offered, "I've got some reading I wanted to do, and I'm not used to sleeping a whole lot. I probably won't be tired for another hour or so."

 

"Does your door have a lock?" Fenris asked quietly.

 

Anders smiled wryly. "Yeah. It's a deadbolt, too. Pounce might scream at you in the middle of the night though, so be warned."

 

"Thank you," Fenris said, and handed him the blanket he'd been curled under the entire day before slinking away to Ander's bedroom.

 

Anders called after him, "There's more blankets in there. Throw me a pillow too, please?"

 

Fenris picked one at random and threw it to him.

 

Anders grinned. "Thank you!"

 

"You're welcome," Fenris replied, then shut the door. The deadbolt slid closed a moment later.

 

"Night, Fenris," Anders said, staring at his door. "I hope you sleep well."

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

Isabela and Bethany dropped Carver and Sebastian off in front of Sebastian's apartment complex.

 

They trekked up the stairs tiredly, and plopped down on Sebastian's couch the second they were inside.

 

"You really had fun?" Carver asked.

 

Sebastian chuckled. "I did, yes. Even though the crowd was a little overwhelming, it was fun. Is there another one coming up? We should go together."

 

"What, like a date?" Carver joked.

 

Sebastian didn't reply for a moment, then said, "Well, yes."

 

Carver twisted around to stare at him. "You’re not fucking with me?"

 

"Of course not!" Sebastian exclaimed, "I would never be so cruel as to ask someone on a date as a joke. That's a terrible thing to do!"

 

"No, no, I know you wouldn't," Carver assured him, "It's just. Been a while since I've been on a date, I guess."

 

Sebastian frowned softly, "What happened with your ex? The one Bethany mentioned? Karras, was it?"

 

Carver pulled his knees up to his chin. "Yeah, that's his name."

 

Sebastian sat up and leaned towards Carver. "It sounds like you two have a history, and not a good one."

 

"It's kind of a long story," Carver admitted.

 

"I've got all night," Sebastian said, "and I want to hear this. It obviously upsets you, and I would like to help, if I can. Even if it's just by letting you talk about it."

 

Carver stayed silent.

 

Sebastian leaned back and waited.

 

"It started back in sophomore year," Carver began, "Karras was a senior, and I thought it was really flattering that an older guy was interested in me. Marian and Bethany didn't like it, but Garrett backed me up. He likes to think the best of people, you know."

 

Sebastian nodded. "Your older brother is the diplomatic one of your family, I've noticed."

 

Carver snorted. "That’s one way to put it. Anyway, Gare said to give this guy a chance if I wanted to, and that we could all sic Marian on him if he turned out to be a dick. So I dated Karras for a while. I went to his senior prom as his date, and he went to mine as my date."

 

Then Carver shook his head. "Then I graduated. Karras invited me to live with him. I accepted, thinking it would be nice to live with my boyfriend, you know? We'd been dating for three years then, so I figured it'd be fine."

 

A thought occurred to Sebastian, and he hoped that Carver's story wouldn't go there.

 

"Course, I'm an idiot. Karras got drunk one day, and brought a girl home. Cheated on me in our home, and forgot to kick her before I got home. We fight, he insists that this was the first time, and he hadn't been thinking straight and he's so sorry. I believe him, and forgive him.

 

"Then I start noticing people keep giving me pitying looks. I get pissed off and ask 'what the fuck is that look for?' Well, turns out, he'd been cheating on me since we got together."

 

Sebastian frowned. "That’s terrible."

 

"That's not the end of it," Carver admitted quietly, "I go home after finding out about that to pack my stuff up and he's still home. He asks me, 'what's wrong babe, what's wrong?' I start shouting at him that I know about his cheating. And that's when-"

 

Carver bit his lip.

 

"Go on, Carver," Sebastian encouraged.

 

After a steadying breath, Carver continued, "And that's when he hit me."

 

Sebastian went completely still.

 

"Then he apologized, and promised never to do it again. He got me a pack of frozen peas from the freezer and was super nice to me the whole night. He begged me not to leave him, that he was sorry for the cheating and that he'd stop. Of course, I'm an idiot, so I believe him."

 

"Carver," Sebastian said softly, "you're not an idiot. You loved him, didn't you? Everyone wants to think that their loved ones are good, even when they're not."

 

"Yeah, I guess," Carver said, then tilted his head and eyed him curiously. "That sounds like you're talking from experience."

 

Sebastian smiled wryly. "I'll tell you mine when you're finished."

 

"Fair enough," Carver agreed, "well, a few months later, I forget my phone at home one day, and when I get back, I find this slip of paper that says, 'he told me he was single.' So I wait until he leaves for work, and then I call Garrett and Bethany to come help me pack. He comes home from work to see all my stuff gone, and I'm gone too. He calls me, and I ignore him. He did leave me some nasty voice mails, though."

 

Sebastian felt that this isn't the end of the story though, and waited.

 

"A few months later," carver continued, "I get a couple of texts. 'I'm sorry for what I said, babe, can I make it up to you?' and I- I don't know why but, I tell him, 'yeah, I'll let you in through the window.'"

 

"Carver…"

 

He shook his head. "I know, Seb, I know. I realized it after I sent the text. So I get this whole speech ready about how I'm not going to put up with him anymore and if he contacts me again, I'll tell Marian where his new apartment is- she's really, really violent. One of these days she's going to get arrested on assault charges."

 

Sebastian nodded and waved for him to continue.

 

"So Karras gets here, and I barely tell him to fuck off before he shoves my window open and pushes me on my bed and starts choking me."

 

Sebastian inhaled sharply.

 

"And he's saying shit like, 'you're mine, you can't deny me what's mine!' and I manage to shout for Garrett before I start losing oxygen, thank the Maker, and Gare comes to my door shouting at me to let him in, and that got Marian riled up, and she busted down the door and fought Karras off of me. Then-"

 

Carver suddenly laughs, "Oh, Maker, I'll never forget what Garrett said, it was the most badass thing I think I've ever heard him say. He said, 'I suggest you leave before I let my sister go-' oh, he was holding Marian after she fought Karras off of me- 'because if I do, all of us will claim you broke in and assaulted my brother, which you did, and your death will have been in self-defense.'"

 

Sebastian's jaw dropped. "Garrett?"

 

Carver grinned back. "Yeah, Garrett! I could hardly believe it either! He's always let Marian do his dirty work, and he's never outright threatened someone like that! It was incredible."

 

Sebastian laughed a little bit before sobering again. "Wait, was that the night you came here…?"

 

"I- yeah. It was, actually," Carver admitted.

 

Sebastian smiled. "Well, I'm glad you found my presence comforting."

 

Carver grinned back.

 

They both fell silent, and Sebastian started nodding off before Carver nudged him gently.

 

"Your turn.  You said," Carver insisted.

 

"I said what?"

 

"Before the festival. You said you’d tell me why you skipped church."

 

Sebastian groaned but agreed, "I did say that, didn't I?"

 

Carver hummed affirmatively.

 

"It's much shorter than yours, I'm afraid," Sebastian said.

 

"S'fine."

 

He sighed, and said, "The short version is that most of my family doesn't agree with my sexuality. The only one who supports me is my aunt Elthina."

 

"And the long?"

 

"The long version is I'm expected to take the Starkhaven throne in the next ten years and produce a child in the next twenty. My family refuses to accept that I'm not exactly straight, aside from my aunt, who is the Grand Cleric of Kirkwall's Chantry. And she wants me to step down from the throne and give it to my cousin, Goran."

 

Carver sat up and stared at him incredulously.

 

"What?"

 

"Are you telling me," Carver said slowly, "that you're the prince of Starkhaven? I thought you were the youngest of three siblings?"

 

"I am. My immediate family was murdered several years ago while I was away at school. I spent several years longing for revenge, and my aunt brought me out of that spiral."

 

Carver reached out and laid a hand on Sebastian's knee.

 

Sebastian startled, and looked up.

 

"I'm sorry for your loss," Carver told him sincerely, "I don't know what I'd do if I lost my idiot siblings, but I can't imagine it'd be pretty."

 

"It wasn't pretty," Sebastian admitted, "I had a few nasty years where I behaved very poorly. That's when aunt Elthina took me in and made me clean up my act."

 

"Alright, but that still doesn’t explain why you didn't want to go today. Wouldn't your family all be in Starkhaven right now?"

 

Sebastian nodded. "Usually, you'd be correct. But summers in Starkhaven are worse than summers in Kirkwall, so they decided to visit to escape the heat."

 

Carver patted his knee. "I get you, man. That reminds me of when my family moved here from Lothering. Us poor Fereldens had no idea what we were in for."

 

Sebastian laughed. "I would imagine not! Ferelden has rather mild weather!"

 

"Oh, man, yeah, I don’t think me or Garrett wore a shirt all of that summer. Marian took hers off all the time too, it drove mother batty!"

 

They stayed up a little later, talking about nothing to diffuse the tension from revealing their drama to each other, until sleep claimed them both.

 


	10. Chapter 10

Fenris woke before Anders did, due to a very unhappy cat.

 

"Quiet, creature."

 

It meowed loudly, again.

 

Reluctantly, Fenris got up and unlocked the door just long enough for the cat to enter the room, jump on the bed, and settled right on the pillow Fenris had been using.

 

He frowned at it, but let it keep the pillow.

 

Instead, he slunk out into the living room to fetch Marian's tablet. He paused to shake his head at how messily Anders slept- legs everywhere and hugging the blanket instead of it covering him.

 

"Idiot mage," Fenris mumbled, tugging some of the blanket to at least cover his feet.

 

He insisted to himself that he was doing it because Anders had given him a blanket the night before and was gracious enough to allow him to sleep in his bed and lock him out of his bedroom.

 

Then he quietly returned to the bedroom and sat on the bed next to the cat. He left the door open and unlocked since he was awake.

 

He opened Facebook and messaged Marian.

 

 _Fenris:_ _are you awake?_

 

A few minutes later, Marian replied

 

 _Marian:_ _ya im up ya goof!!!! Im at work :) whats up tho?? Is anders being weird?? plz dont mind him hes a sweetie hes just weird I promsie!!!_

 

Fenris snorted.

 

_Fenris: anders is fine. im just worried about orana and varania._

 

_Marian: O is good. nearly took out this guys hand off today tho. ud be soooooooo proud. i think she used 1 of ur fancy karate moves on the dude bc he touched her ass while she was taking his buddys order. manager said she had the right of way and kicked the dude out. was p kickass!! Also she says V is cool 4 now._

 

_Fenris: tell her to message me later. i wanna hear about it from her._

 

_Marian: ok! np dude!!!! anyway I gotta get back 2 wrk u caught me on my br8k!!!! ttyl fenfen!!!!_

 

Fenris grumbled at the nickname, but brought instead went to r/nosleep to kill time until Anders woke up.

 

\--

 

When Anders woke, the first thing he did was make breakfast. Well, he reheated the leftover biscuits and gravy from the day before.

 

Fenris emerged from Ander's bedroom soon after, Pounce at his heels.

 

"Ah," Anders said when he saw his cat, "I was wondering why I didn't wake up with a face full of cat."

 

Fenris muffled a laugh.

 

"Anyway, next up on the movie list is The Winter Soldier," Anders said, then hesitated, "unless you're bored of the Marvel movies. You can tell me, I know I can be annoying about-"

 

"I wish to finish the series," Fenris interrupted.

 

Anders grinned, and went into the living room to start everything up while Fenris finished eating. As soon as he was finished, he returned to the couch, and Anders started the Winter Soldier.

 

_"Prep him."_

 

Anders didn't notice at first, but when he glanced over to make sure Fenris was enjoying the movie, he was horrified to see Fenris tense, wide-eyed, and breathing shallowly.

 

"Fenris?"

 

He didn't respond.

 

Anders paused the movie and stepped in front of the screen. "Hey, Fenris? What's wrong? Fenris, talk to me, please."

 

"I-" Fenris said breathlessly, "I'm sorry, I- I just remembered something I'd forgotten."

 

Frowning, Anders asked, "What is it? Is it something bad?"

 

Fenris nodded shallowly.

 

Hesitantly, Anders knelt in front of Fenris and gently touched his knee. "Hey, Fenris, you can tell me. I won't tell anyone unless you tell me I can. I'll invoke doctor-patient confidentiality if you like."

 

"Danarius-" Fenris started then shook his head.

 

"Breathe," Anders ordered, "You don't have to tell me if you don’t want to, but if you tell me I might be able to- well, I might be able to get Justice and Aveline to help."

 

Fenris waved jerkily at the TV. "Danarius did that. To me."

 

Anders stared at him in confusion.

 

"He-" Fenris swallowed, trying to return to his cam façade, "have you heard about the illegal fighting rings?"

 

"No fucking way," Anders breathed,

 

Fenris scowled, but nodded again.

 

Anders motioned back to the screen and said, "You’re telling me that Danarius deleted your memory like that, and then had you fight in an illegal fight club?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Andraste's saggy tits," Anders said, rocking back on his heels, "that’s horrible. That's- that's really horrifying. Have you reported him to the cops yet?"

 

"Who would believe me?" Fenris asked tiredly.

 

"Justice would," Anders replied immediately, "as would Aveline."

 

Fenris scoffed, "and what do I even say? 'Yes, officer, my foster father used blood magic to wipe my memory and forced me to fight in underground fight clubs.'"

 

"Yes."

 

Fenris frowned.

 

"Look, Fenris, I'm serious," Anders said, "actually, I think they're both actually _on_ that case. I promise you that they will believe you. Do you want me to call Aveline? I have her number, and she'll answer me for sure."

 

"I- you're certain she will believe me?"

 

Anders nodded. "One hundred percent certain."

 

Fenris grimaced, but nodded. "Call her, then."

 

\--

 

"This is incredible, Fenris," Aveline told him once she was finished taking his statement, "You have no idea how helpful this information is. Justice and I have been trying for months to get enough details to convince the higher ups to let us send someone in undercover, and this is perfect."

 

"You can't send in a cop," Fenris said, "they'll know."

 

Aveline frowned. "Really? Shit."

 

Anders, who had listened silently since Aveline had arrived, finally spoke up.

 

"I'll go."

 

Aveline and Fenris both turned to him in surprise.

 

"Anders, you might have to fight," Aveline warned, "and that's even if we can get you cleared."

 

Anders smirked. "What makes you think I don't know how to fight? You've heard about how bad the Circles are. We had to know how to fight or we'd all be dead."

 

Aveline eyed him critically before finally saying, "Alright. Let's go to the station to get the ball rolling."

 


End file.
